Matt Patricia fired as Detroit Lions coach.
Matt Patricia opened his final postgame news conference with the Detroit Lions by thanking his wife and children for their support.
Patricia probably knew what was coming.
His boss, General Manager Bob Quinn, might not have expected the same fate.
The Lions fired Patricia and Quinn, who hired the coach to replace Jim Caldwell. The moves were made Saturday.
“It clearly wasn’t working,” Lions owner
Sheila Ford Hamp said on a Zoom call with reporters.
The duo joins a long list of general managers and coaches who failed to help the franchise win over the past several decades. Since Detroit won the 1957 NFL title, it has won only one playoff game — and that was way back on Jan. 5, 1992.
“We can’t hide our past, that’s for sure,” Hamp said. “But I’m very dedicated to turning this ship around and really making a difference.”
Darrell Bevell, who has 14 seasons of experience as an offensive coordinator, will be the team’s interim coach for the final five games.
The Lions (4-7) lost consecutive games for the third time when Detroit collapsed in a 41-25 loss to Houston at home on Thursday after getting shut out for the first time in 11 years in the previous game at Carolina.
“I’m just really appreciative of my family, my wife, my kids,” Patricia said Thursday before taking questions from reporters on a Zoom call. “My wife does a lot behind the scenes and from that standpoint I appreciate her a lot.”
The setbacks dropped Patricia to 13-29-1 in two-plus seasons. Quinn’s mark fell 12 games under .500 over five seasons.
“Ten days ago, we looked like we had a good chance to be playoff bound and both of those games were extremely disappointing,” Hamp said. “Yes, we thought it was a good time to make a change.”